Potato, Ham, and Spinach Soup

If you ask any of my friends whether or not I have an adventurous personality, they would most likely say no, but that ended as of this weekend. This is the second time in as many days that I'm trying out a brand new recipe. This one is even crazier than the Jambalaya recipe from yesterday. At least with that I had previous experience making Jambalaya, I had just never made it in a microwave before. But I can honestly say I've never made any kind of potato soup, much less heard of one with these specific ingredients. This was definitely a risk, and while it might not be for everyone, it actually turned out pretty stinking awesome!

I think if I make this again I would probably use diced potatoes instead of sliced potatoes. The sliced potatoes were kind of thick and didn't break down very well. I'm thinking diced potatoes would have broken down a little better. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough? Not sure. I really can't complain too much though, I originally planned to use the potatoes and spinach as a side dish, but I started rethinking it before I made it. It turned out fine as it is though, please feel free to play with the recipe and let us know how it goes.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Fat Free Milk [$0.60]
- Cream of Chicken Soup (11oz can) [$0.82]
- Whole Leaf Spinach (13.5oz can) [$0.54]
- Sliced Potatoes (15oz can) [$0.58]
- Three large slices of Deli Ham [$1.00]
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- Large tupperware dish (8-14 cup/ 2x 6-8 cup)

Optional/Substitute Ingredients
- 2 cups of any kind of milk
- Cream of Mushroom
- Diced potatoes instead of sliced
- You can cut your own potatoes as well if you'd like
- Any kind of turkey or ham would probably go well with this, doesn't have to be deli slices

Ingredients

This recipe will make around 4 servings depending how much you eat. Total cost comes out to about $0.71 per serving and you really can't beat that. This is about 1/4th of the price of similar soups (I'm looking at you Chunky soup!)

Step 1: Get out a plate and shred the ham with a fork and a knife. I basically did this by folding the ham a bunch of times and then sticking it in the middle with the fork. Take your knife and stick it between each set of prongs on the fork and cut it horizontally. Now cut vertically on either side of the fork. Your ham should be in pretty small sized chunks now, which is what we're shooting for. Throw the sliced ham into your tupperware dish

Chopped up ham

Step 2: Open and drain both the spinach and potatoes. Throw both into your tupperware dish. When I made it a little while ago, I stopped here, but I'm thinking it would have been a good idea to try and chop the potatoes into smaller pieces. If you got the diced potatoes, don't worry about it though.

Potato, spinach, and ham in the dish

Step 3: Open your cream of chicken soup and pour it in the dish.

Step 4: Add your two cups of milk to the dish.

Step 5: Now add all of your seasonings and stir to spread out everything evenly.

Step 6: Put the dish in the microwave for 10 minutes. Take it out and stir every 2 or 3 minutes.

Step 7: Take out and let the dish cool down for about 5-10 minutes. Now pour into a bowl and enjoy!

This picture doesn't do it justice

Like I said earlier, I think this dish is pretty flexible. You can try cooking it longer if you want, maybe that will result in the potatoes being more mushy, making the soup thicker. I think it turned out fine as it is though, but it's all up to you in the end. Since this one turned out pretty well I think in the future I'll experiment with potato soups using other ingredients like cheese, bacon, chives, sour cream, crab, crawfish, ground beef, etc (not all at once of course). I'm thinking I've really got something with this one.

Ham, Egg, and Cheese sandwich

This sandwich is a great tasting and healthy way to start your morning. I saw a picture of a sandwich similar to this in the book Eat This, Not That: The Supermarket Survival Guide. There is just about everything you need in a meal between the two pieces of ultra healthy bread. Tons of fiber, protein, and dairy make this a quick and guilt free breakfast.

Ingredients:
- 3 slices of thin cut ham
- One slice of Velveeta cheese
- Half a cup of Egg Beaters
- Two slices of Double Fiber Wheat bread
- Salt and Pepper or Tony Chacheres
- Tablespoon of Milk


Optional Ingredients:
- Hot Sauce
- Spinach
- Tomato

Step 1: Pour the half a cup of Egg Beaters into a small bowl or tupperware dish and season it with the salt and pepper or Tony Chacheres. Add the tablespoon of milk so that the eggs aren't too dry, stir the mixture together. Cook the egg beaters in the microwave for 1 minute and thirty seconds. Take out and stir the eggs and then place it back into the microwave for 1 more minute. This step is very important otherwise the eggs will not be fully cooked in the center.



Step 2: Let the egg cool for about 30 seconds and then place the egg patty on the first slice of bread. Put your slice of cheese on top of the egg so that the cheese can melt just slightly. Then top it off with your 3 slices of thin cut ham. Finally put your last slice of bread on top of the ham and enjoy your amazing sandwich.



Optional Step 3: If you do choose to put the spinach or tomato on the sandwich, make sure to put the spinach between the cheese and the egg and put the tomato between the ham and the top piece of bread. I don't know exactly why, but it always seems to taste better this way.

Optional Step 4: If you have a George Foreman grill or sandwich press, throw it on for about two minutes so that the bread is nice and toasty.